To go to this wedding? Newborn baby & toddler

A close relative is getting married and I really want to go to the wedding however my baby is due 2 months before! DC1 will be 3yo. Depending when the baby is born they could be either 2 or 3 months old.

The wedding is a 7 hours drive away not including rest stops. Plus it's going to be in a standalone marquee i.e. not on the grounds of a hotel etc, basically in a field. It'll be no expense spared but I have no idea what the facilities will be like at this type of event.

Should a newborn be travelling in a car this long?? I'll have support from my DP and my children's grandparents but realistically how practical and enjoyable will the wedding be with a new baby?

I'm planning on FFing after the nightmare I had with DC1 if that makes a difference?

No issue with a baby that young being at a wedding, but yes, that's too long in the car in one stretch. Can you make a weekend away of it? A good decent long break in the middle of the journey, some respite for your older DC. I don't think FF or BF would make a difference, and if you are driving you can take all the kit you'll need for both kids, it's just the length of the journey that you'll need to manage.

Of course, it is possible that if baby is overdue or there are complications you may not feel up the journey, so also worth bearing in mind how you would handle it if that happened and you had to cancel at short notice - hopefully you have an understanding friend.

when ds was 4 weeks old we drove from the Cotswolds in the south of England to orkney off the scottish north coast. we stayed overnight in Inverness and made short stops to give him a change/feed/stretch every couple of hours. travelwise it was easy, but we did have comfortable accommodation. I assume you'll be staying somewhere near the venue? if so, fine!

I am (early days) pregnant again and that dc will be due a week before sil's wedding. we plan to attend

Can you take a day or two to travel to the wedding? A baby shouldn't be in a car seat for more than 2 hours and I can't get my toddler to sit in one for much longer. Maybe drive half way and have an over night stay and the same on the way back?As for the field thing, I think that would be fine. Cartons of formula, and loads of hand gel for nappy changes.

We were going to have to take a 3 month old and a 4 year old to a wedding in a Forrest but they have moved the date so the new one will be 8 months. I'm already wondering how many spare clothes we'll have to take!!!

Hmm. The train is a possibility, I hadn't thought of that. That would mean the baby wouldn't be in the car seat the whole time, though it would be a lot more expensive for the 4 of us but so would breaking up the journey with an overnight stay. Money will be tight with me being on mat leave. Will have a look into those options though.

I don't know at this stage where we'll be staying but it would probably make sense to book a b&b nearby if possible so we have access to our room especially if our toddler needed a nap during the day and for getting back easily.

Another possibility would be me going myself with our toddler and DP staying at home with the baby but I would rather we all went together

If there was any complications then the bride would be understanding if I couldn't make it at the last minute I'm sure.

I would take the baby and leave the toddler tbh. Having said that we did attend weddings (some in fields) with both dcs as ebf babies and some with dcs aged 2-4. Was much less stress to leave the toddler at home though

i think that the advice is that babies shouldn't regularly be in car seats for longer than a couple of hours. However a one off should be fine especially as you'll need food and rest breaks for you and the children. Most people love young children and are happy to help with cuddles at weddings so once you are there it'll be easier for you to take it easy. Definitely try and make a weekend of it.

If it's a close family wedding then why not get in touch with the mother of the bride or someone you know wellwho are in the wedding party and ask what facilities will be avail? Trust me, as a bride next month, I would have no qualms about answering questions about what facilities my venue offer. It's imperative to being a good host that you ensure your guests feel looked after.

Or you could call the venue directly if you were self-conscious and say "I'm attending a wedding in xxxxx, it's the xxxxx wedding. I will have a newborn in tow and I was wondering what changing facilities you have avail etc.

YY To the previous posters who suggested train, making a weekend of it etc.

We attended a wedding last month with our 7yr old and 7 week old. It would have taken 5 hours to drive so we got the train. Tickets weren't bad as we bought a family rail card.He slept in the sling the whole journey and we even had a day out in Central London with him in the sling. I was so glad we didn't drive as if you have a bad night the night before it can affect your concentration.

A 2 month old baby is a breeze compared to a toddler at a wedding. They mainly sleep and don't need much. When I had my second dc I was at how I'd forgotten how relatively easy babies were (and both of mine were awful awful sleepers)

I took ds to Cyprus at 8 weeks old after a very rough emergency c section. It was great, lots of people to fuss over the baby and I got to relax! If the tent has no facilities then make sure you have plenty of milk if ff and kid friendly drinks and snacks for toddler. Car journey isn't a problem, just take loads of breaks and get baby out of the car seat regularly. Toddler will get bored but a portable DVD player or plenty of magazines/toys/singing and a nap will help. Have a lovely time!

I've just attended a wedding with a 4 year old & an 8 month old and am a lone parent. It wasn't like a pre child wedding with lots of sitting around drinking in the sunshine etc & logistics needed to be planned carefully but it's definitely doable.Saviours for me - playgrounds at motorway services, planning longer driving stints around naps, letting older one stay up late if she had a nap, ice lolly in car (hottest day of year) plenty of water & snacks & a v chilled out baby by nature who is happy watching world go by, being carried around with the occasional play on the floor/grass - pure fluke #1 total oppositeI was staying on site though so could retreat to room & found that loads of the guests were more than happy to volunteer to help outOverall - not easy but doable & worth it for a wedding you really want to attend.

I recently attended a wedding, in a field, about a 6hr drive away. Perfectly doable. For the journey we stopped every 2hrs or so. The wedding itself was straightforward, the b&g had put on a separate play tent for the kids so I fed (mixed feeding) and changed him in there. We did fine it useful to have the car with us, due to the amount of 'stuff' we needed with us, think the train would've been more complicated.